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“I’m saying that it didn’t mean anything. Sex. It probably never will.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I wish I was enough,” he said quietly.
“Enough?”
“I wish that I could ask you to stay, and that it would be enough. That I was enough.”
I wanted to tell him that he was. He was more than enough. But it wasn’t just about him. It was about me, too. It always had to be about me, and the people I’d leave behind.
He took my silence as an answer. Sighing, he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on my lips.
I kissed back, lingering longer than he’d probably expected.
His fingers on my back curled, gripping the shirt.
“You know what I’ve always wanted? What I never let myself dream?” I said against his lips.
“What?” he whispered.
“To meet a guy that wanted to kiss me. Not because it would lead to sex, but because he felt like he would die if he couldn’t. I want to fall asleep, kissing someone, and for that kiss to be enough, to be everything. Just kiss. Sometimes when I’m with you, that’s all I want. I want to kiss you like my life depends on it.” My voice cracked, but I kept going. “If I could dream the same dream a million times over, it would be you—you would be my last kiss, my last breath.”
“Chloe,” he sighed.
And then he kissed me.
He kissed me with everything he had.
Every piece of him.
Like his life depended on it.
We never broke apart.
Not even when fatigue set in, and we struggled to move.
Or when fatigue won out, and we fell asleep.
Not even when I dreamed that the cancer had won, and I was dying.
And that Blake Hunter—he was my last dying breath.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Blake
Her eyes fluttered open, and a slow smile spread across her face.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“You know what I love?” she said groggily.
“What?”
She skimmed her fingers over my nose. “These little freckles, right here. They don’t come out often. Sometimes in the sunlight. Barely ever indoors. But they’re out now. I bet it’s just for me.”
“I bet it is.”
Her eyes drifted shut again as she pressed her lips against my nose. And for a moment, I forgot that that was it. That the moment—right there—was as good as it would get for us.
It was the greatest thing we’d never have.
The thought created a knot in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn’t shake it. “You want to shower?”
“Okay.”
I kissed her once and tried to smile. “I’ll go after you, and then maybe we can get something to eat?”
“Sounds great.”
Last night, when she’d been in my arms, I’d asked her to stay—not in those exact words—but she’d known what I’d meant. She hadn’t responded, and that had been enough of an answer for me.
I’d wanted to tell her that I loved her—or at least I thought I did. But then she’d told me how she felt about me, and the word love hadn’t felt like enough.
I had three and a half days to find words that were enough. Even if she didn’t stay, at least she’d know how I felt about her.
She’d told me she’d wait outside while I showered. When I stepped out of the house, she was leaning against my car, and my mother was with her.
“I invited your mom. I hope you don’t mind.”
What was I supposed to say? That I did mind? That I wanted her all to myself and that I wanted her to be mine? “That’s cool.”
“I also rang Mary, and everyone else is going to meet us there.”
“Okay.”
“And Josh, too.”
My smile was tight, but I nodded anyway.
We got in my car and drove to Clayton’s restaurant, her hand on my leg the entire drive.
My mom linked arms with me as I watched Chloe walking ahead and into the restaurant. “It might be the last time she gets to be with everyone, Blake. Don’t be selfish. Let her have this moment.”
I looked down at her. “When did you get so smart?”
“Honey, I write romance novels. You don’t think I know what goes on in the minds of two people in love?”
Chloe
I frowned when Mary, Dean, and the kids walked in.
“What’s wrong?” Blake asked. He must’ve been watching me.
“Harry’s not here,” I said into his shoulder.
He put his arm behind me and brought my temple to his lips. “I’m sorry.”
They all joined us in the corner booth.
“Harry’s coming,” Dean said. “He wanted to meet us here. Said he had something he had to do.”
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
“Dean, Mary, this is my mom, Celia.” Blake made the introductions. They talked among themselves for a while as I watched the seconds tick by. My eyes moved from the clock to the front door, waiting for Harry. When I saw him walk in with a skateboard under his arm, my heart leapt. I couldn’t contain my smile. Blake squeezed my shoulder once before standing up to bump fists with him. He took a seat on the other side, suggesting that Harry sit next to me. It was a small gesture, but one that didn’t go unnoticed. I was thankful that he’d thought of it. I was thankful for him.
“Hey,” Harry greeted.
“Hi,” I squeaked. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure what Harry would say to me.
